Be cunning, play cunning, and learn how to play craps the correct way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves date all the way back to the Crusades, but modern craps is approximately a century old. Current craps come about from the ancient English game called Hazard. No one knows for sure the origin of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been invented by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, in the twelfth century. It’s believed that Sir William’s paladins bet on Hazard through a blockade on the castle Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the citadel’s name.
Early French colonists imported the game Hazard to Nova Scotia. In the 1700s, when expelled by the English, the French relocated south and settled in southern Louisiana where they at a later time became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their best-loved game, Hazard, along. The Cajuns modernized the game and made it mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns adjusted the title to craps, which is derived from the term for the losing throw of snake-eyes in the game of Hazard, known as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game migrated to the Mississippi barges and all over the nation. Most consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the creator of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn designed the modern craps setup. He created the Don’t Pass line so players can bet on the dice to lose. At another time, he developed the boxes for Place wagers and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
